Hope of more remains fading

Authorities could be losing faith in recovering more buried remains of victims of two notorious serial killers after an excavation in Linden this week uncovered no remains.

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By Jordan Guinn and Scott Smith

recordnet.com

By Jordan Guinn and Scott Smith

Posted May. 3, 2012 at 12:01 AM

By Jordan Guinn and Scott Smith
Posted May. 3, 2012 at 12:01 AM

» Social News

Authorities could be losing faith in recovering more buried remains of victims of two notorious serial killers after an excavation in Linden this week uncovered no remains.

Officials from the Sacramento division of the FBI and the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office Evidence Recovery Team dug on private property on Drais Road on Tuesday in an effort to find more possible victims of Wesley Shermantine and Loren Herzog, who were convicted in four murders but are widely suspected of more. After the unsuccessful excavation, one official expressed dwindling hopes of finding additional remains.

"The intent of all agencies involved in this is to locate and identify victims so they may be returned to the families who have been searching for them for many years to bring closure and peace," said Herb Brown, special agent in charge of the FBI's Sacramento unit, in a news release. "Unfortunately, the credibility of investigative resources is eroding and the hope of finding additional victims is beginning to fade."

Representatives of the FBI and Sheriff's Office declined to comment on possible future excavations and cited the active investigation as reason for keeping any potential locations secret for now.

Shermantine has authored several maps of possible grave sites from his death row cell in San Quentin State Prison and alleges Herzog killed scores of people. Shermantine has denied actively killing anyone since the two men were arrested in 1999. Herzog hanged himself in January shortly before a mass grave with 1,000 bone fragments was uncovered off Flood Road near Linden.

Kimberly Billy, 19, who disappeared in 1984, and Joann Hobson, 16, who vanished in 1985, were identified as two of the three people buried in the well. The remains of the third person have yet to be identified.

Shermantine has alluded to locations in rural areas around the county as sites for human remains.

This week's dig cast the spotlight on Jason Jones, the name of a onetime Linden man who often appears in Shermantine's letters from death row.

Jones, 44, in the mid-1990s rented the Drais Road home where authorities dug this week, and he was good friends with Loren Herzog, according to Sacramento bounty hunter Leonard Padilla and court documents. Garcia would not confirm that Jones' property was the site of this week's dig.

Shermantine has threatened to expose Jones, but he has not provided specifics in his letters to both The Record and Padilla. Jones could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Jones was among dozens of witnesses who testified in Shermantine's 2000 trial. He testified that he went pheasant hunting with Herzog and another Linden man, Chris Brewer, on Nov. 14, 1998 - hours after Shermantine raped and murdered Cyndi Vanderheiden as Herzog witnessed.

It was the opening day for pheasant hunting, and the three met up at Jones' Drais Road home to hunt in a nearby field for a couple of hours that morning, he testified.

Jones said at the time he dug a garbage pit at the home to get rid of trash left by the former resident. That way he wouldn't have to take so many trips to the dump, Jones said, adding that digging happened the week Vanderheiden disappeared.

Jones said he attended Linden High School with Shermantine and Herzog, but he was friends with Herzog. In court, he mentioned no knowledge of Vanderheiden's murder, but he said he noticed that Herzog was depressed that day.

After Herzog's arrest, Jones testified that he visited Herzog about three times in jail.

Gina Swankie, public affairs specialist for the FBI, declined to comment on Jones, or any aspect of the investigation, except to say that the FBI and Sheriff's deputies performed an "exhaustive" excavation Tuesday. On Wednesday, they filled in the dig sites, she said.